Five Minutes with St. Olaf College

When I sat down with Sarah Patterson from St. Olaf’s College, I knew very little about the school other than it is in Minnesota. As I learned about the beautiful campus nestled on a mix of farmland, wooded area, and prairie (which I remember is a treeless grassy plain because I chose to do a 4th grade book report on Little House on the Prairie and it required that I build a diorama of Laura and her family traveling by covered wagon over the treeless grassy plain to her new home in Kansas). Anyway, the campus is picturesque – and located only 45 minutes south of the Minneapolis/St. Paul – St. Olaf’s offers the best of both the urban and suburban worlds.

Here are some excerpts from Five Minutes with St. Olaf’s…

One thing I wish everyone knew about St. Olaf’s: it is an academically outstanding place – more collaborative than competitive – with a real sense of community. And The St. Olaf Christmas Festival is one of the oldest Christmas musical celebrations in the U.S. - it is broadcast on PBS each year!

If St. Olaf’s had its own IPOD playlist, what would be on it? Pretty mainstream music – alternative rock and pop – like Train and Counting Crows. And Classical music - because of our well known music program – with 17 instrumental ensembles and 10 vocal ensembles – more than 1/3 of our students are involved in music – so someone is always singing or playing the violin around campus!

Dress up for class or wear sweatpants? wear sweatpants

Closest Starbucks or local coffeehouse? There is a Caribou Coffee in town, but the local coffee shop, Blue Monday, is most popular with our students.

Students can name the quarterback vs. we have a football team? It would depend on who you asked – about 25% of our students play varsity athletics and even more are involved in intramurals – but there are definitely students who have no idea who the Quarterback is.

Recent speakers on campus: Karl Rove, Arianna Huffington, and the Center for Experiential Learning is also always inviting alums back to talk with students about their jobs. Also – OK Go was on campus a few weeks ago – which was a big hit!

Published by KMH

Five Minutes with Radford

Radford University is located in the heart of the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains and Appalachian Trail in Virginia. With Virginia Tech only about 15 minutes away, there are a ton of college students in the area. Students are allowed to bring their car as early as freshman year – so you can make the 4 ½ hour drive from DC with ease or head to the mall and restaurants only 10 minutes away. Radford has about 9000 students, Greek life, and D1 sports - and their popular majors include Nursing, Education, Criminal Justice and Psychology. Most importantly, Radford has one of our recent alums, Danie Curtis-Williams, Class of 2010, in their current freshman class!

Faye Holliday, a Radford Admissions Officer, spent a few minutes filling us in about life on campus when she visited our school...

If Radford had its own IPOD playlist, what would be on it?
Radford has a nice mix of students from Northern Virginia, Maryland, and New Jersey and Southwestern Virginia – so the more urban vibe of hip hop gels with the country music scene.

Dress up for class or wear sweatpants? Radford is a relaxed campus. Freshman start off dressing up for class – but quickly learn that the uniform is jeans and a Radford hoodie.

Closest starbucks or local coffeehouse? There is a Starbucks on campus in the Student Center – along with a bowling alley, pool tables, and the newest movies offered for only $1 in the auditorium.

Students can name the quarterback vs. we have a football team?: Radford doesn’t have a football team – but Division I Basketball is big! Former Radford Center, Art Parakhouski, was just drafted to the NBA.

Popular local hangouts: Radford has a lot of local restaurants and bars – Sharkey’s and BT’s are two of the more popular, close to campus hangouts.


Thanks to Ms. Holliday for taking the time to answer our questions. If you would like to be in touch with her, just contact your College Counselor.

Published by KMH

Five Minutes with Wofford College

Last spring, as March Madness approached, I sat down to work on my picks for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and came across an underdog team who caught my attention. As I consulted my expert bracketology advisor, (aka my brother - while he gets a little frustrated with me when I make my decision based on which team has a player with a heartwarming story or a good mascot, if I bribe him with a free dinner he will help me with the important discernment process of choosing the teams certain to win!) I became more and more intrigued by this small liberal arts school in Spartanburg, South Carolina. After watching Wofford College lose a heartbreaking, but very close game against a Big Ten powerhouse, I started looking more closely at this school, wondering if it would be a good match for Visitation students. After meeting today with one of Wofford’s Admissions Representatives, Jenni Lister, I think that Wofford’s school spirit, close knit community, and strong academic programs offer a great fit!

Wofford has about 1500 students enrolled - and is growing. They pull in a large percentage of their population from South Carolina but 40% of its students enroll from out of state. They offer a unique January Interim program that allows students to earn credit while participating in experiential, real-world learning via internships, study abroad, guided research projects and service learning opporunities. One thing that Jenni Lister wished that everyone knew about Wofford is that they send at least 3 students each year to The Aspen Institute – a prestigious leadership opportunity. When describing the co-curricular programs, Jenni mentioned a short video created last year that is set to Montell Jordan’s “This is How We Do It” that captures some of the fun-loving nature of the school.

Here are some other excerpts from our “five minute interview":

This or That about your school…

Dining Hall or Eat off Campus: Eat off campus

Dress Up for Class or Wear Sweatpants: (without any hesitation) - Wear Sweatpants

Starbucks or Local Coffeehouse: There is a Starbucks right off campus – but the on campus coffee – Java City – is 10 times better!

Students Can Name the Quarterback or “We have a football team?": Students can name the Quarterback – and since we are a small community - are probably good friends with him!

Speakers/Groups who have drawn the biggest crowd on campus:
• Paul Farmer, Department of Global Health and Social Medicine
• Marian Wright Edelman, President and Founder of Children’s Defense Fund
• Jerry Richardson, Owner of the NFL Team - Carolina Panthers
• The Wofford Men’s Basketball Team! – especially for the 2009-2010 Selection Show. One of Wofford’s Alum even sponsored 10 charter buses to help students get to the Round 1 game in Jacksonville to support their team.

So, you just never know where you are going to find a hidden gem of a school – just another excuse to enjoy March Madness! If you’d like to learn more about Wofford College, you can get Jenni Lister’s contact information from your college counselor.


Published by KMH

Five Minutes With....

Washington University's Cory Zimmerman spent all of second period with two very interested seniors, patiently answered all of my admissions questions, and was nice enough to volunteer to be profiled on the blog!

If Washington University had its own ipod playlist, what would be on it? Taylor Swift, K-pop, T.I., Lady Gaga, MGMT, Scott Joplin, The Beatles.

How are DC area students/applicants different from their counterparts in other regions of the country? DC kids are savvy and can clearly articulate what they love about their school and their city. They definitely take advantage of their amazing location.

How many applications will you read this fall? Probably around 1,000.

How long will you spend reading each one? It really depends on the application - anywhere from a few minutes to almost and hour.

Popular guest speakers/entertainers on your campus in the last year or so? The Biden/Palin debate, Thomas Friedman, Seth Myers

This or That about your school...

Dining Hall or Eat Off Campus? It's a tie. The food is fantastic on campus (for example, there is Mongolian Barbeque and a Vietnamese Deli in the student center) but there are great options off campus as well. Most people probably eat in the cafeteria during the week and venture out on the weekends.

Dress Up For Class or Wear Sweatpants? The students are very casual - definitely closer to sweatpants than anything fancy!

Nearest Starbucks? Kaldi's coffee (a Starbucks rival in St. Louis apparently) is served on campus and there is a Starbucks six blocks north on The Loop.

Students can name the quarterback or "we have a football team?" We do have a football team but I'm not sure most of the campus can name the players. Basketball and volleyball are probably our more popular sports.

This is the second year Cory has visited our school and his third year in admissions. If you have questions for him, ask your counselor for his contact information. We are looking forward to visiting Washington University when we are in St. Louis for a National Admissions Conference in a few weeks. Thank you for spending so much time at Visi this year and volunteering to be on the blog Cory!

Published by TSM

Five Minutes With...

Hopefully you all know by now that we will host over 100 college visitors this fall. Did you also know that we meet with the representatives after you have spent time with them? This is one reason why our calendars are so busy right now! When we meet with the college reps, we make sure to note all of their policies, deadlines, admissions statistics, and get updates on their campuses. We also take this time to talk to them about what's new at Visitation and the girls who may be applying this year.

We thought that this year we would go beyond our usual questions about average SAT scores and also ask about some fun topics that might interest our dedicated Life After Visi readers. We have been working with Jesse Bowen from the University of Maryland for several years. In addition to visiting our school and reading our applications, he has been gracious enough to be part of our Junior College Night panel presentation twice. He works with both prospective and enrolled students at Maryland and so we thought he would be perfect for our first "five minute interview!"

If University of Maryland had its own ipod playlist, what would be on it?

The Maryland fight song, Vampire Weekend, Lady Gaga, international music, Talking Heads, and a little Michael Jackson for good measure.

How many applications will you read this fall?

Around 1,000.

How long do you spend reading each one?

About 5-10 minutes.

Popular guest speakers/entertainers on campus in the last year or so?

Barack Obama, Tim Gunn, Bob Saget, Ludacris

This or That about your school....

Dining Hall or Eat Off Campus? Definitely the dining hall - the food is really good!

Dress Up For Class or Wear Sweatpants? Sweatpants

Closest Starbucks? On campus and another one a stone's throw from campus in case you need a refill.

Students Can Name Your Quarterback or "We Have a Football Team?"

Everyone can name the quarterback! Actually we have two - but that's a longer story.

Thanks for being such a good sport Jesse! If you have questions for him (about admissions, not what to wear to class), ask your college counselor for his contact information.

Published by TSM